Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Computer's Got A Brand New Bag

"Computers in the 1960s were not very good at chess. Now they play the saxophone like John Coltrane."

So...found a hobby they liked better than chess, then? A is not B, dammit, and until I catch Kasparov doing a jazz solo or read a report of Coltrane checkmating a chess champion, I'm going to look askance at that statement.

2 comments:

Function at a high level in a rule-bound environment? Check, even to the level of Go

Emulate the behavior of a model? Check, but I doubt the system actually plays a sax, it is probably driving a synthesizer. OK, you can sound like Coltrane. The challenge is, can the computer create a unique sound we would actually like?

Understand natural language questions? Good and getting better but only when cloud-based systems are considered.

Given enough data and time computers can do many things, but operating in the real world outside the lab is still the realm of specialist machines. The four-legged robot walkers can carry a pack but not carry a tune, and the jumping bipeds can't to anything else. The abilities (and lack thereof) of 'self-driving' cars doesn't need rehashing.

"I saw to what extent the people among whom I lived could be trusted as good neighbors and friends; that their friendship was for summer weather only; that they did not greatly propose to do right; that they were a distinct race from me by their prejudices and superstitions."